In the design of structures for space mission, light weight is the important factor that must be considered first of all. In the slender structures like cylindrical containers used in rocket fuel tank, buckling due to compressive force is the critical failure mode. Therefore it must be considered for the structure stability. In this research, topology optimization results of inner-wall stiffener of cylindrical container considering critical buckling loads are presented. Critical buckling load problem is formulated using instability due to geometrical nonlinear behavior and solved for some examples. Through comparing these results and previously known solutions, the accuracy of procedures for calculating these is verified. For the design of light structure with appropriate buckling rigidity, a reciprocal of critical buckling load is adopted as an objective function and total mass of stiffener is constrained below prescribed value. A procedures for calculation of sensitivities of the objective function and constraint is induced and a characteristic of utilized optimization algorithm(i.e., optimality criteria method) is mentioned. Before applications for cylindrical containers, preliminary topology optimization results for a column and a flat board using periodic pattern are investigated. Finally, topology optimization results for inner-wall stiffener of cylindrical container using periodic pattern and symmetric boundary condition model are investigated and compared with existing design.
